JUST IN: Former Packers LB De’Vondre Campbell goes rants on social media about team

De’Vondre Campbell, a former Packers linebacker, vents on social media about the team

The linebacker tweeted on Sunday, “Listen, I would’ve NEVER gone all pro if I would’ve listened to half the stuff they were telling me.”

De’Vondre Campbell, a former linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, has never been bashful on social media. He declared in December that he would no longer play for the Packers despite injuries, saying, “When s*** goes wrong, they always use it against you.” He claimed on his Instagram page earlier this week that the team had “badly misused” him after releasing him. He elaborated on those ideas extensively on Twitter/X on Sunday.

According to Campbell, he made it into the All-Pro team by refusing to comply with the Packers’ wishes to be utilized in specific ways.

The linebacker claims that his play suffered in 2022 and 2023 for a few reasons, including the team’s desire for him to break based on the quarterback’s eyes rather than keying on routes and the fact that he was unable to press tight ends or receivers when separated from the box.

In addition, Campbell said that he was never asked to forgo a compensation raise in order to stay on the team in 2024. When Green Bay decided to dismiss the linebacker earlier this summer, he was still only three years into a five-year, $50 million contract. He inked a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers subsequent to his release. The remark is elevated to a whole new level by the fact that former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers also liked the tweet.

He said that the defensive scheme hurt the run game as well. In an attempt to prevent the defense from being “gashed,” Campbell claims that the Packers’ linebackers were trained to slow play their run fits in order to trigger at the same time as the team’s safeties.

Additionally, Campbell asserted that the defense improved after he started having private meetings with Matt LaFleur and informed the head coach that the group “needed to be more aggressive.” To be aggressive in this situation meant to blitz more from the second level of the defense and play more press man coverage.

Not all was bad, though; according to Campbell, defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s strategy also abused fellow linebacker Quay Walker because he was “thinking too much” about it. The scheme of new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley “will fit [Walker] perfectly,” according to Campbell.

In the end, it’s difficult to determine if Campbell’s ailments over the years, his usage, or Campbell himself is primarily to blame for his decline. Though he claims that Green Bay is the best organization he has ever been a part of, it doesn’t seem like he has many positive things to say about the coaching staff.